The Magic Pudding eBook

“And Sam at once was sunk all
In passion deep and grand,
But this here aged Uncle
He was the Hearl of Buncle
And Sam a foremast hand.

“When sailin’ by Barbado,
The Saucy Soup Tureen,
Before she could be stayed-O
Went down in a tornado,
And never more was seen.

“The passengers were sunk all
Beneath the ragin’ wave,
The maiding and her Uncle,
The Noble Hearl of Buncle,
Were saved by Sam the Brave.

“He saved the Noble Buncle
By divin’ off the poop.
The maiding in a funk all
He saved along with Uncle
Upon a chicken coop.

“And this here niece of Buncle,
When they got safe to land,
For havin’ saved her Uncle,
The Noble Hearl of Buncle,
She offered Sam her hand.

“And that old Uncle Buncle,
For joy of his release,
On burgundy got drunk all
Day in Castle Buncle,
Which hastened his decease.

“The lovely maiding Buncle
Inherited the land;
And, now her aged Uncle
Has gone, the Hearl of Buncle
Is Sam, the foremast hand.”

“Of course,” said Sam modestly, “the
song goes too far in sayin’ as how I married
the Hearl’s niece, because, for one thing, I
ain’t a marryin’ man, and for another
thing, what she really sez to me when we got to land
was, “You’re a noble feller, an’
here’s five shillin’s for you, and any
time you happen to be round our way, just give a ring
at the servant’s bell, and there’ll always
be a feed waitin’ for you in the kitchen.”
However, you’ve got to have songs to fill in
the time with, and when a feller’s got a rotten
word like Buncle to find rhymes for, there’s
no sayin’ how a song’ll end.”

“The exigencies of rhyme,” said Bunyip
Bluegum, “may stand excused from a too strict
insistence on verisimilitude, so that the general
gaiety is thereby promoted. And now,” he
added, “before retiring to rest, let us all
join in song,” and grasping each other’s
hands they loudly sang—­

THE PUDDIN’-OWNERS’ EVENSONG

“Let feeble feeders stoop
To plates of oyster soup.
Let pap engage
The gums of age
And appetites that droop;
We much prefer to chew
A steak-and-kidney stew.

“We scorn digestive pills;
Give us the food that fills;
Who bravely stuff
Themselves with Duff,
May laugh at Doctors’ bills.
For medicine, partake
Of kidney, stewed with steak.